


Apartment 5

by BriellaBleu



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-06-11 06:56:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,928
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15309888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BriellaBleu/pseuds/BriellaBleu
Summary: Barry and Iris tell Nora their favorite stories about the first home they shared as a couple.





	1. Prologue

“So….this is the infamous loft.”

Iris’ hand froze on the light switch as she looked back at the two figures still standing in the hall. One was her husband and the other was her daughter. Her adult daughter. Her adult daughter that came from the future and couldn’t find her way back.

Iris laughed nervously as she flipped the switch and the airy space of the loft was flooded with soft light.

“Um, yes, I guess this would be the infamous loft.”

Iris took a step back and gestured for Nora to come in. As her daughter walked by Iris chewed on her lip anxiously but the gentle pressure from Barry’s thumb released her worried lip.

“It’s okay.” He whispered as he slid his thumb slightly to the side to brush her cheek. “Everything is going to be okay.”

Iris nodded in agreement but the butterflies in her stomach hadn’t dissipated. She wiped her damp palms on the rough denim of her pant legs before forcing her legs to take her further into her home.

"Now this house is truly bitchin’!” Nora said excitedly as she flitted around the room so fast she was nothing but a blur.

“Woah! Slow down.” Barry laughed as he rushed past Iris and caught Nora by the arms on her third pass around the living room to stop her. “You don’t want to burn yourself out running around the living room.”

“It’s just SO open!” She said in amazement, “I mean, don’t get me wrong the house we–I mean I. That I grew up in was amazing too. It was perfect. But this…just wow.”

“Thank you.” Barry said in a pleased voice and he looked back at Iris but the smile on his face faded a little when he saw the pinched expression on his wife’s face.

“So, Nora would you like some–” Barry’s offer for refreshments were abruptly cut off when Nora eased out of his embrace and walked past him towards Iris who was still watching her warily.

“Mom…I mean, Iris, can I call you Iris?” Nora asked timidly. At Iris’ slight nod she continued, “Iris, I know this is a lot to take in but I promise I mean you no harm.”

“I know that,” Iris responded quietly, “this is just a lot to take in.”

It had only been a few hours since Nora had unceremoniously showed up on Joe’s front door announcing her presence…and her big mistake. Now it was creeping up on midnight and they were all physically and mentally exhausted. There was a quick discussion among the team about where Nora would stay until they figured out how to send her back to the future but as soon as talk turned to keeping her in the pipeline at STAR Labs Barry and Iris instantly vetoed that and announced they were taking their daughter home with them.

So here they were.

“Would you like something to drink or eat?” Barry asked again–successfully this time.

“Um, water. Water would be good.” Nora replied quietly as she averted her gaze from Iris’.

“I’ll go get some pillow and blankets for the couch.” Iris murmured quietly. She heard Barry make a soft sound of protest but she ignored it and hurried up the stairs to the linen closet. She opened the door and pulled down the pillow and sheets she used when Barry was gone in the Speed Force. She buried her face in the pillow and contemplated screaming out loud just to release some of the tension in her body. She didn’t want to admit it but she was scared. Absolutely terrified. 

From the second Nora had introduced herself every possible ramification of time travel that she knew about ricocheted through her head like a wild bullet. The sheets and pillow in her hands were a stark reminder of exactly what she could lose because of her daughter’s decision and she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to go through that again.“Iris?” Iris started slightly at the sound of Barry’s voice drifting from downstairs. She knew if she stayed up there much longer he would come looking for her and she didn’t have the energy to explain why she had her face buried in some old linen she hadn’t used in months. 

“Coming."  
******************

Half an hour later the couch had been covered with sheets and a blanket and Iris knew from experience that it would make for a comfortable’s night sleep but she felt compelled to apologize anyway. 

"So, um, sorry we don’t have our guest bedroom fixed up. We had plans to get it done but life and Flash stuff got in the way…you know…so…” Iris’ voice drifted as she gestured lamely at the made up couch.

"It’s great!“ Nora responded cheerfully before sitting on it with a hearty bounce. "It’s perfect actually, thank you.”

A smile graced Iris lips and she couldn’t ignore the warm feeling spreading through her at the thought of doing something that made her child happy. Suddenly, despite how exhausted she was she had the sudden need to stay and talk with a Nora bit longer. 

That proved to be easier said than done. Thirty seconds into the conversation it became clear that there was nothing in Nora’s life that could be shared. She was from the future so every bit of her life was a spoiler. Spoilers that Barry and Iris couldn’t risk knowing. So the topic turned to Barry and Iris’ life, specifically their life in the loft. 

“So what do you know about our loft?” Barry asked as he and Iris sat down on the couch opposite Nora, “you said you didn’t grow up here but did you know anything about it?”

"Just stuff that I saw in pictures. It always looked beautiful but photographs didn’t do it justice.“

"Thank you.” Iris answered shyly as she tucked her head into Barry’s shoulder. “It was breathtaking the moment I saw it.”

"That was when Daddy–I mean, Barry surprised you at Christmas, right?“ 

"Right.” Barry answered a gruffness to his voice that hadn’t been there before. Iris glanced over and she saw his eyes glistening with unshed tears. 

“It was a hell of surprise,” Iris said with a smile as she ran fingertips lightly over Barry’s forearm. “I walked into this big empty room and I was absolutely floored. I was not expecting it." 

"Really?”

"No, not at all I got him a wall–“

"A wallet.” Nora finished for her. “You got Dad a wallet and he absolutely adored it.”

"Yeah, he did.“ Barry said softly as he kissed Iris’ cheek, "it was the best gift ever." 

Iris rolled her eyes but she felt her cheek heat with a blush as she leaned in to her husband’s kiss. 

"I appreciate that, but you and I both know it doesn’t compare to our home.”

"I got us a house, Iris. You made it into a home so you still give the best gifts.“ 

Iris shook her head slightly at that and turned to see that Nora was watching them with glistening eyes.

"You guys are so sweet together.” Nora said with a unmistakably sad smile on her face. “You were always so sweet.." 

The finality of that statement hung in the air and Iris felt Barry’s fingers tighten around hers but neither one of them said anything. They couldn’t. The answer they wanted to a question they couldn’t ask was a burden that Nora had to carry and they couldn’t share it. So they ignored it. 

"Um, do you have any questions for us? Anything you’ve been dying to know your whole life?” Iris asked with a strained but bright smile on her face. The tension on Nora’s face lessened a bit once it became apparent Barry and Iris weren’t going to push her on what she had said so she took a deep breath and looked around at her surroundings.

"I want to know about the loft.“

"What, like the square footage and stuff like that?” Barry asked with a confused laugh. 

“No, I want to hear the stories. Your first Christmas together, first New Years’, first fight, first busted pipe or broken window. I want to know what made you fall in love with this place. What truly made it your home.”

"We can do that, right babe?“ Iris asked with a wink.

"Yeah, we can do that. So, Nora, what would you like to know first?”

“Everything. Start from the beginning…and don’t leave anything out!”

"Yes ma'am,“ Barry replied with a laugh and a small salute, "Well I guess if we’re going to start at the beginning that would mean we’ll start with Christmas Eve 2016. That was our very first night here together. You would not believe how hard it is to get a blindfolded woman up an elevator…”


	2. Blindfolds and Egg Nog

“…so, wait, you hit the emergency stop in the elevator???" 

"Yes!” Iris choked out around a laugh, “apparently I’m claustrophobic?" 

"You think?” Barry said before turning to wink Nora, “I could tell Iris wasn’t crazy about the blindfold when I put it on her when we left Joe’s house but she completely freaked out once she realized we were in a elevator." 

"What?” Nora squeaked out in surprise, “But you’re fearless? You always have been." 

Iris’ cheeks warmed from the unexpected praise from her daughter as she responded, "well, in my defense, I was already little woozy from all the egg nog and being sped over here by Barry. So a confined ride in elevator was just a little too much for my poor senses." 

"Right, so I get her in the elevator and at the first lurch she’s staggering. As fast as I am even I couldn’t catch her in time to keep her from backing into the panel and somehow she managed to land just perfectly that her hand hit the emergency stop button." 

"Oh my god!” Nora said as she giggled uncontrollably. 

“So we’re stuck in this elevator, a ridiculously loud alarm is going off, someone comes over the intercom to ask if we’re okay, I’m still blindfolded and Barry is saying over and over, ‘this isn’t supposed to happen…why does this stuff always happen to me??’ Needless to say it was a lot happening at once." 

"That is insane." 

"Tell me about it.” Barry answered with an exaggerated eye roll. “It took a couple minutes of complete chaos but we finally managed to assure the maintenance guy on the intercom that we weren’t going to ruin his Christmas by making him come save us. We ended up getting off on that floor–which was like the third–and I carried Iris the rest of the way up. With no blindfold." 

"I covered my eyes which, for the record, was just as effective." 

"I promise I’ll never ever forget.” Barry said before leaning over and giving Iris a lingering kiss on her cheek. 

“You got some more surprises up you sleeve, Allen?" 

"A lifetime’s worth." 

Iris’ eyes filled with tears at his sweet words and when she turned to look at Nora she found her staring back at her with matching wet eyes. 

"What happened after that?” Nora asked after clearing her throat. 

“I lead her into the loft and walked in ahead of her so I could see her reaction." 

"Was it worth it?" 

"Absolutely.” Barry answered with a wide grin, “I’ll never forget the look on her face." 

"I was stunned. Completely stunned. It’s beautiful now but there was something about it when it was just open space. I loved it from the second I laid my eyes on it." 

"So Dadd–I mean, Barry did good?”

“Perfect. He did perfect." 

Barry blushed at the praise and lowered his head. When he looked back up his face was bright red but he had the happiest look on his face. 

"So did you two stay here your first night? Even with no furniture?" 

"Um…well…I actually had an air mattress here…you know, because um…well…it was snowing and well…um, the roads were bad so…" 

Barry nervously stumbled over his words while Iris side-eyed him something fierce. If Nora noticed his weirdness she didn’t show it. 

"We didn’t sleep on the floor if that’s what you wondering,” Iris said with a chuckle as she interrupted her nervous husband, “Although we did have a malfunction with the air mattress." 

Barry looked over at with wide horrified eyes but she ignored him and continued on. 

"There was a hole in it and we, or rather Barry, had to run out to get another one. No small feat at one o’ clock on Christmas morning." 

"So you’re first night here was a comedy of errors basically?” Nora asked. 

“Basically. By the time we actually went to sleep we were both exhausted." 

"I bet.” Nora replied with a grin and a shake of her head, “Do you guys mind if a I excuse myself for a minute to use the bathroom?” 

“Of course,” Barry answered, “just go up the stairs and it’s the first door to your left.”

As Nora bounded up the steps and Barry waited until she was out of sight before turning to his wife to ask, “I guess now is a good time as any to clarify just how much we plan on telling our daughter?" 

"What do you mean?" 

"The air mattress?" 

"Oh my god, is that why you looked like that when I brought it up?” Iris couldn’t contain her laughter as Barry looked less than impressed with her reaction. “Did you really think I was going to tell her the reason we had to get another brand new air mattress is because you thought it would be a good idea to have sex with my heels on? 

"Wait a minute, I don’t recall you complaining.” Barry said with a raised eyebrow,

“In fact if I recall correctly you thought it was an excellent idea." 

"If I recall correctly I wasn’t thinking clearly. Remember, I was woozy from blindfolds and egg nog." 

"Oh is that what that was? And here I was thinking you were so…woozy and relaxed that night because of that thing I did with my tongue." 

"Hmmmm…feeling cocky, are we Mr. Allen?” Iris asked in a sultry voice as Barry slid closer to her on the couch. 

“Mmm-hmm..” He murmured as he kissed her behind her ear, “speaking of cock–" 

"I’m back!" 

Barry jumped away from Iris guiltily and jerked one of the decorative pillows of the couch beside him and stuck it on his lap. Iris seemed more composed but she still had a slightly dazed look in her eyes. 

"So we’ve established that Christmas was eventful that year and–are you two okay?” Nora asked as she got settled back on the couch, “you both have weird looks on your faces." 

"We’re fine!” Barry answered a little too exuberantly, “we’re fine. Just reminiscing." 

"Oh…okay. Do you want to stop? I forgot it’s late and–”

“No, it’s fine. We promise.” Iris answered quickly, “What else would you like to know?" 

"Anything. Everything….whatever you want to tell me. What was your next favorite memory from the loft?" 

Barry and Iris looked each other for a long moment before Barry quirked his eyebrow and said while still looking Iris, 

"Well, there was New Year’s Eve that year. Imagine trying to celebrate during a blackout with frozen, busted pipes…”


	3. Broken Pipes and Twinkle Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry and Iris tell the story of their New Year's Eve part from hell.

"Oh my god, I have to hear this!" Nora exclaimed as she snuggled deeper in the couch and clutched the fuzzy decorative pillow to her chest, "What in the world happened on New Year's Eve."

"Well, at this point we had only been in the loft a few days," Iris started as she glanced over at Barry and gave him a wink, "but somebody thought it'd be a good idea to throw a party."

"In my defense, we had a TON of open space."

"Wait...you guys still didn't have any furniture?" Nora asked incredulously. "After a week?!?"

"It actually took us a month to unpack--"

"WHAT?!?!" Nora practically yelled before dissolving into giggles. "What did you sit on? Or eat on? Or sleep--"

"We made it work." Barry answered with a short laugh, "But for the record I wanted to unpack way sooner than Iris did."

"I liked our big empty loft." Iris replied with a slight shrug, "we had each so as far as I was concerned I had everything I needed. So I was good."

"That's so sweet." Nora murmured as she clutched the pillow tighter to her chest.

Iris looked over to find Barry watching her with a soft smile and she lifted her hand to swipe her knuckles against his cheek. She felt the skin there warm slightly and she winked at her husband again.

"So," Nora interrupted their moment, "you decided to have a party here because of the open floor plan?"

"Yeah," Barry said, clearing his throat, "it seemed like a great idea at the time so we invited Team Flash as well as our co-workers from CCPD and CCPN."

"We obviously weren't thinking clearly." Iris interjected, "That became evident when everybody we extended the invitation to accepted it."

"So that was how many people exactly?"

"Upwards of 50 people." Barry said with a grimace, "we were in over heads before we even started planning it."

"Oh wow..."

"Actually I think we pulled something impressive together, all things considered." Iris said with a firm nod of her head.

Barry glanced over at her with a raised eyebrow, "really, Iris?"

"Um, yes, really." She snapped back playfully before nudging him slightly in the ribs with her elbow. "Our plans went smoothly all the way up until the day of the party."

"And then they all went to hell." Barry deadpanned.

"OMG, what happened?"

"Well, first thing that morning--and I do mean FIRST thing--the movers showed up with all my stuff." Iris said with an exaggerated eye roll.

"Were they not supposed to?" Nora asked in confusion.

"Not that day! In fact, the plan wasn't for them to come until the day after New Year's Day but they had a cancellation and I left the key with them so they took it upon themselves to pick up all my boxes and bring them to the loft."

"It was 7:30 in the morning and a group of burly movers were hauling box after box up here." Barry interjected with a laugh, "If we weren't both half-sleep and horrified we would have found it amusing."

"Eventually..." Iris conceded.

"Oh wow, what happened after that?" Nora asked with her eyes shining bright with laughter.

"So," Iris began, "there we were the morning of our big party--"

"Hours before we intended to be awake." Barry interrupted.

"--trying to figure out what the hell we were going to do with all this stuff we weren't prepared to have yet."

"We crammed as many boxes as we could fit in our bedroom and the spare room but that still left about 12 boxes in the living room."

"One of which just so happened to be old sheets that I had." Iris said proudly, "I went through a whole Midsummer's Night's Dream phase in my early 20's so I had all these old dark blue and purple sheets that actually worked pretty well with our 'theme'."

"We covered up the boxes with those sheets and then added some battery operated twinkle lights--also courtesy of Iris' early 20's--and we had a halfway decent looking setup."

"So crisis averted, right?" Nora asked, looking between her parents.

"Well...not quite." Barry said with a loaded glance towards Iris. "There was the food situation."

"The food situation?"

"Yeah...this is where the blackout came into play."

“Keep in mind that we ordered the food DAYS before.” Iris said with an exaggerated eye roll, “so they had more than enough time to put a couple fruit and meat and cheese platters together, right?”

“Right.” Nora answered in the affirmative.

“Well, not the local deli that we used. They pride themselves on ‘same day service’ which is great…normally.”

“Oh no, what happened?”

“What happened was an unexpected blizzard that started around ten that morning—“

“And the biggest blizzard of the previous 20 years at that.” Barry interrupted with a smirk.

“The roads were crazy slippery, power lines were freezing and within an hour or two the rolling blackouts started. So it was no surprise when around noon we get a call from the deli saying that regrettably they had to close and couldn’t finish our platters.”

“Oh no…”

“Right?” Barry said with a laugh as he draped his arm over Iris’ crossed legs and unconsciously tugged her closer. Nora’s eyes tracked the movement and a small smile crossed her face when Iris tucked her legs under her and turned until she was curled into Barry’s side.

“So, what happened next?”

“We were in panic mode. Our power kept going on and off, we had no food, we had boxes everywhere…It was just a mess.”

“Two smarter people would have just called the whole thing off,” Barry said with a short laugh, “but we we’re particularly smart that evening.”

“Blame it on the lack of sleep.” Iris countered. “If we hadn’t been woken up first thing in the morning would have made wiser decisions. So really, what happened next was really all the movers’ fault.”

“Obviously.” Nora agreed graciously. “So what did you do for food?”

“Mr. Fastest Man Alive here ran to every open grocery store in town—and there weren’t many—and bought all the dips and chips they had available.” Iris answered with a laugh.

“Don’t forget deli meats and cheeses, meatballs, and frozen eggrolls.”

“By the time he finished we had a literal smorgasbord of food…and then the lights went out. And came back on. And went out. And came back on…”

“It did that for HOURS. And yet we didn’t cancel because—“

“Sleep deprived.” Iris interrupted playfully while nudging Barry in the side with her elbow, “we were sooooooo sleep deprived.”

“Well, with the power playing chicken all day the loft was freezing cold, even with the fire we had going, and that’s what caused our next problem thirty minutes before people were supposed to arrive.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask.” Nora said with a grimace

“Oh honey…” Iris replied with a shake of her head, “it was the worst possible thing that could have happened at the worst possible time.”

“The worst.” Barry echoed.

“First of all I think it should be recognized that I was cute. Blizzard or no blizzard, power or no power I made it work. I looked like a disco ball but I was cute.”

“Yeah you were…” Barry replied with a wicked smirk.

“Ahem…” Iris cleared her thought while giving Barry a pointed look that was clearly meant to remind of him his daughter sitting right across from him.

“So anyway, I looked good and I was putting the final touches on my look in the master bathroom when I heard the sound of running water. Obviously I’m confused because there wasn’t any water on in the bathroom I was in so I went out to the hall to ask Barry if he was running water downstairs.”

“There wasn’t.” He deadpanned, “Oh, but how we wished there had been…”

“I soon as I stepped into the hallway the first thing I felt was freezing cold water.”

“No…”Nora gasped.

Iris just closed her eyes and silently nodded yes.

“What happened?”

“A pipe in the guest bathroom that we never used froze and burst. Apparently it had happened earlier that morning but because we were so busy downstairs we didn’t realize it.”

“Oh no.” Nora said with a sympathetic laugh.

“At this point were running around like chickens with our heads cut off,” Iris began laughing until tears were running down her face, “We were trying to turn the water source to the pipes off and sop up what seemed like GALLONS of water and one thing led to another and somehow we both slip and fall and we ended up on the cold bathroom floor covered in freezing water. I wanted to cry.

“So did I.” Barry admitted with a chuckle.

“Just when things couldn’t get any worse we heard the worst possible noise.”

“What was that?” Nora asked as she leaned forward with excitement.

“A door knock.”

Nora sat back on the couch and raised her hand to her chest dramatically.

“Are you serious?”

“As a heart attack, unfortunately. I looked like a drowned shiny cat in my disco ball dress so Barry was on his own when it came to greeting the guests.”

“I looked 10 times worse than she did, for the record, but I went down and opened the front door. Thankfully the only people that bothered to show up that day was Team Flash so I didn’t feel so bad when I told them to get out.” 

“Barry!” Iris choked out a laugh before lightly hitting him on the chest. “That’s not what he said.” She assured Nora. “At least I hope not…”

Barry winked at Nora before trying to avoid the sharp jab of Iris’ finger poking him in the side.

“It doesn’t really matter what I said, it worked and they left. And after a few quick mass texts all the rest of the would-be partygoers knew that out party was dead in the water…literally.”

“So what did you do for the rest of the night?”

“Well…you know…cleaned up…cried a little bit because my dress was ruined…cursed the pipes…cleaned up some more…” Iris began talking before looking over to Barry for him to give the big finale.

“And five minutes before midnight we turned on the television to watch the ball drop, which was a tradition of ours since we were kids, and moments before the countdown started the lights went out.”

“Oh no...”

“And they didn’t come back on until the next NIGHT.” Barry finished with an exaggerated grimace on his face.

“I’m so sorry you guys!” Nora said passionately as if what happened was her fault, “that must have been so awful!!”

“Actually…” Iris said as she threaded her fingers through her husband’s. “It wasn’t so bad.”

Barry looked down at their joined hands before bringing them up so he could kiss Iris’ knuckles, “Not bad at all,” he murmured against her hand.

“Wow…okay, whatever you two say.” Nora said with a short laugh before standing up and stretching. “I don’t know what was in that drink Caitlin gave me but I need to use the bathroom…again.”

“Yeah, I question what’s in that ‘I need to take some tests, drink up’ concoction she comes up with. You may be doing this all night. Sorry.”

“Great.” Nora muttered with an uncomfortable look on her face, “I’ll be back.”

As she flashed upstairs Barry untangled his fingers from Iris’ to bring his hand up to her face. He put gentle pressure on her chin until she was facing him fully.

“What?” She whispered with a smile, her breath ghosting across his lips, “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Barry didn’t answer, instead he leaned forward and pulled her face closer until their lips touched. His tongue traced leisurely across the seam of her lips before he sucked her bottom lip into his mouth. Her answering moan had him tilting his face to the side in an effort to deepen the kiss further but his efforts were in vain when she pulled away from him abruptly.

“Babe, what are you doing?”

“Kissing my wife.” He answered matter-of-factly before leaning in again.

“Barry Allen! Our daughter is upstairs and she’ll be down any second and oh…oh boy…” Iris’ indignant words stuttered to a stop as Barry’s lips found that spot on her neck that made her toes curl and her brain turn to mush.

“You know what I was thinking about?” He whispered against her neck as he dragged his lips down to her collarbone, “two minutes before Midnight…” 

“Oh God.” Iris whimpered as Barry bit lightly at the skin in the curve of her neck.

“Do you remember?” He whispered, his mouth now against the shell of her ear. “It was pitch black and the only light we had was from those battery powered twinkle lights and the fire we built. The world was completely quiet aside from the sound of our breaths mingling…you screaming my name when you cam—“

“Hey guys!” Nora said brightly—and loudly—from where she was standing at the bottom of the steps.

Barry and Iris jumped apart guiltily and Iris patted her too warm cheeks while Barry carefully slid a pillow across his lap.

Nora rolled her eyes before making her way back to the couch. “It’s okay you two, I’m not Jesus I know I didn’t get here through immaculate conception.”

“OKAY!” Barry said in an awkwardly loud voice. “What would you like to hear about next?”

Nora regarded her parents with a smirk on her face before finally pointing to the ring glinting on Iris’ finger.

“That. I want to know the story behind your proposal.”

Barry and Iris looked at each other before saying simultaneously, “which one?”

Nora gaped at them before practically yelling at Barry, “Which one? How many times did you propose?”

“In my defense…”

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic was a part of the Girls' Inc. campaign in honor of Candice. Thank you to everyone who supported such a worthy cause for a worthy person.


End file.
